NSL Renewable to get $40 mn PE funding

NSL Renewable Power Private Ltd (NRPPL), part of the Hyderabad-based NSL group, has signed an investment agreement with FE Clean Energy Group, a private equity group focused on clean energy projects, for an investment of $40 million (Rs 180 crore).

The company said it would use the capital raised to meet equity commitments for its wind, hydro and solar power projects.

NSL group chairman Prabhakar Rao said in a statement that the investment would help the company ramp up capacity and facilitate further fund-raising to become a 1,000 Mw company by 2015 in the renewable energy space.

According to Anand Prakash, managing director, FE Clean Energy Group, NSL’s diversified portfolio is ideally positioned to grow in the next few years. He said the company had significant projects in each of the wind, hydro, biomass and solar sectors within the renewable energy space.

The company said its renewable arm had been looking to raise capital to fuel its growth since the de-merger from Nuziveedu Seeds Pvt Ltd, the flagship company of NSL group.

It has an installed capacity of 162 Mw in renewable energy, consisting of 150 Mw of wind power, including a 50Mw wind farm which is expected to be commissioned later this month, and two bio-mass plants of 6 Mw each.

NRPPL is also constructing two medium-scale hydro power projects of 100 Mw and 44 Mw capacity respectively, and two small-scale hydro power projects of 5 Mw and 6 Mw in Himachal Pradesh.

The company recently entered into solar power generation and is constructing a 20Mw solar power project in Gujarat, which is expected to be commissioned by December 2011.

It also has seven wind power projects under development, with a total capacity of 700 Mw, which would be implemented over the next two to three years.

NSL group is also the promoter of wind turbine manufacturer, Regen Powertech Private Limited.